We know them best as the props of childhood nativity plays, but gold, frankincense and myrrh long pre-date the birth of a baby in a manger.

Once prized by ancient civilisations, the wise men’s iconic offerings were all hugely valuable and significant at the time of the Christmas story.

Gold is believed to symbolise Jesus’ kingship, frankincense represented his divinity and myrrh, which was used by the Ancient Egyptians for embalming mummies, foretold his death.

So how have history’s most famous Christmas gifts fared since the nativity 2,000 years ago?

Today gold remains a gift fit for a king, with a market value of more than £1,000 per troy ounce, having increased by more than 60 per cent since 2009.

‘At times of uncertainty, the value of gold tends to rise because people lose faith in paper money,’ said Catherine Schenk, professor of international economic history at the University of Glasgow.

‘The price of gold has soared since the start of the financial crisis. Gold is still most commonly used for ornamentation and jewellery and as a store of value.

‘It’s often given at weddings and christenings, so there’s some continuity there from the birth of Christ.’

Jewellery today accounts for almost 80 per cent of the 2,500 tonnes of gold that is mined every year, but the precious metal isn’t just for romantic surprises on Christmas day – gold also appears in many of your electronic gifts.

‘Most electronic devices contain small quantities of gold – your mobile phone, computer and car braking system all operate reliably thanks to this precious metal,’ said Dr Trevor Keel from the World Gold Council.

‘Gold nanoparticles are driving exciting progress in many fields of science, such as new potential treatments for cancer, improved pollution control and more efficient solar cell technologies.’

First used for jewellery in 2600 BC, gold has stood the test of time thanks to its unique combination of properties.

According to Dr Robert Chapman, lecturer in geochemistry at Leeds University, its golden colour, high density and malleability are what have continued to make it such a highly sought-after precious metal.

‘It also doesn’t tarnish and that’s the key thing – it’s very resistant to chemical change, which is why since antiquity it’s been viewed as a special substance. That and its colour made it very unique in terms of what the ancients had available,’ he said.

Frankincense and myrrh, the lesser known of the wise men’s gifts, retain many of their biblical uses. The fragrant plant resins, extracted from trees across dry areas of Africa and Arabia, are used for incense or distilled to produce essential oils for aromatherapy.

How much do gold, frankincense and myrrh cost? Click the link below to find out.

Martin Watt, herbalist and author of Frankincense & Myrrh, said: ‘The use of the resins has changed little in thousands of years.’

They continue to be used for incense in religious practices of all types, from Christian to pagan.

In ancient times, frankincense and myrrh were commonly used as medicines and have continued to be used across the world to treat a whole host of ailments.

Mr Watt said: ‘Some herbalists use the tincture [of myrrh] – which is just the resin dissolved in alcohol – for things such as gum infections and mouth ulcers. It tastes awful though.

‘There has been research on some types of myrrh on its anti-inflammatory activity used as an internal medicine.’

In many parts of the world, myrrh has been traditionally viewed as a cure-all for congestion, cuts, aches and pains because of its antiseptic and anaesthetic properties, but Mr Watt said it is not used much in traditional Western medicine.

Frankincense, on the other hand, has been the subject of much more medical research.

‘It has been proven to be anti-inflammatory but also fractions from the resin have been tested for anti-tumour actions,’ said Mr Watt.

The bitter-tasting resin has also been traditionally used to treat colds, wounds, headaches and even psychological disorders such as anxiety, or chewed as gum to strengthen teeth and aid digestion.

In some parts of the world, students leave frankincense resin in water overnight and then drink it before exams, in a bid to capitalise from its apparent memory-enhancing effects.

Although there are no conclusively proven medicinal effects of either resin, there have been a number of recent studies into their possible medical uses.

Clinical trials, described as ‘encouraging but not compelling’, looked at the use of frankincense to treat asthma, arthritis and Crohn’s disease.

One study, conducted in 2010, even suggested frankincense could hold the key to curing cancer, because of an agent within the resin that appears to stop cancer spreading.

Myrrh has also been linked with modern medical treatments, with scientists in recent years suggesting that myrrh may help lower cholesterol levels and that a substance in the plant could be used to treat certain cancers.

Dr Julie Sharp, from Cancer Research UK, said there was no evidence to suggest frankincense or myrrh might play a role in treating cancer, although chemicals in other plant extracts have been used in cancer fighting drugs.

Professor Monique Simmonds, a plant expert at London’s Kew Gardens, also advised caution about claims of the resins’ curative powers. She said: ‘You need to be careful about it because it’s often based on traditional use.’

However, she added: ‘Frankincense is more widely used than myrrh, which could indicate that more people have seen its significance as a medicine.’

One area of research is on the effect of ‘invigorating’ frankincense perfume on mood and well-being.

‘Its use in aromatherapy is quite interesting, but there are issues around the supply chain,’ said Prof Simmonds.

A study released by the British Ecological Society last year warned frankincense production is ‘doomed’ because of a rapid decline in the frankincense-producing Boswellia trees.

‘The pressure on habitats has really altered. They have become very precious, so conserving them is now very important,” said Prof Simmonds.

Starbucks has been in the spotlight over the tax it pays (Picture: Getty)

We give them millions of pounds every year. It’s about time some of them gave us something back.

Starbucks, the most recent multinational to come under fire for tax avoidance, has agreed to pay £20mn over the next two years, after coffee sales slumped under the weight of public protest.

UK Uncut campaigners, who protested at more than 40 Starbucks branches across the country, say it’s ‘too little too latte’ and that more must be done to stop corporations dodging tax payments that could be spent on protecting welfare services.

The protests, known as Refuge From The Cuts, saw Starbucks branches transformed into women’s refuges, crèches and homeless shelters to highlight the harmful human impact of spending cuts, including £5.6m being slashed from violence against women services.

UK Uncut said it is outrageous that vital services are being cut in Britain while companies such as Starbucks avoid paying tax.

Aid agencies, however, say the tax dodging antics of companies here are just the tip of the iceberg.

‘While the damage to the British economy is bad enough, the damage to the economy of poorer countries is that much worse,’ said Andrew Hogg, head of media at Christian Aid.

‘Christian Aid estimates that damage [to developing countries] amounts to somewhere in the region of $160bn (£100bn) each year – money which if it was available to the governments of poorer countries could go somewhere towards improving essential services such as health and education.

‘The money that developing countries lose each year because of the tax antics of big business is very nearly one and a half times what they receive in terms of aid. So, on the one hand, you’ve got relatively rich governments handing out aid, but at the same time you’ve got the multinationals busy taking out as much as they can from those countries.’

‘In the UK, we’ve seen real-term cuts in benefits for some of the poorest people, while we know that there’s a significant amount of corporate tax unpaid,’ he said.

‘But actually when you’re looking at countries with much lower income levels, the impact of lost revenues is much more direct – not just on the quality of development but on people’s lives, and whether people are alive at all. Impacts on things like mortality and health are dramatic.’

For organisations like Save The Children, it’s not just an economic but a political problem.

‘Paying tax is part of a relationship with the government and it gives the right to hold governments to account,’ said Mr Cobham.

‘Unfortunately, when you have major taxpayers obviously not contributing in the same way, it undermines the trust all the way through the system.’

He believes where that trust is damaged, developing countries are left with far less representative and accountable governments, which have fewer resources but are also less likely to spend them for the benefit of their citizens.

Nevertheless, aid agencies have been encouraged by the UK government’s recent announcement that tax transparency will be a priority at next year’s G8 summit.

In the wake of the attention given to Starbucks’ financial affairs, campaigners hope to keep the human cost of tax avoidance at the forefront of political discussions.

‘We’re obviously pressuring them, as NGOs, to make sure that developing countries are included in anything they agree,’ said Mr Cobham.

‘In particular, that would involve requiring companies like Starbucks to be much more transparent in each country where they operate, in order for tax authorities to see if there are obvious problems.’

How much money are developing countries missing out on? Click link below to find out

Criticising Starbucks, Amazon and Google, the Commons Public Accounts Committee has said there is a ‘moral case’ for tax avoiders to answer, a statement welcomed by Christian Aid as a key shift in attitudes.

‘There is a growing awareness that while this behaviour might be legal, it is immoral,” said Mr Hogg.

‘If we’re prepared to say it’s immoral when it comes to avoiding tax in the UK, we should be prepared to say that it is even more immoral when it comes to avoiding tax in poorer countries, where the life expectancy is much less, education is more badly funded, and the health services need all the support they can.’

Tax campaigner and Guardian writer Ellie Mae O’Hagan has also seen a shift in public perceptions since UK Uncut’s first actions against Vodafone in 2010.

‘I think what UK Uncut did was give [tax avoidance] a good shove into the limelight, through creative civil disobedience which caught the public imagination and curiosity,’ she said.

‘I think the other reason why UK Uncut suddenly became a very mainstream issue is because of the connection with the cuts – so with Vodafone you had the contrast of £6bn being dodged in taxes and £7bn being cut from the welfare bill, although obviously that’s a lot higher now.’

For all these tax campaigners, the key to cracking down on immoral multinationals is far greater transparency.

‘The law needs to be changed on tax avoidance to stamp it out altogether,’ Ms O’Hagan said.

‘Our tax system is so complex that it enables tax avoiders. Corporations need to be held as accountable, in terms of their taxation, as your average person on the street is.’

According to both Christian Aid and Save The Children, this means lifting tax haven secrecy and requiring multinationals to publish country-by-country accounts of their profits and taxes.

‘Social pressure is useful in the case of a company like Starbucks that sells directly to the public,’ said Mr Cobham.

‘But it can’t be a substitute for governments across the world moving towards much greater transparency being required from companies, rather than voluntary. It’s that transparency that will allow governments to put pressure where it needs to be.’